What is a tongue or a lip tie?
A tongue-tied baby or lip tie is a common, but often overlooked condition that is seen at birth and can cause a wide range of difficulties that can affect the sufferer in many different ways if left untreated. The frenulum is a fibrous attachment that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth and the lips to the gums. When the frenulum is too short, it can restrict the movement of the tongue and lips, and can interfere in normal swallow function, and overall dental and craniofacial development.
What are the signs or symptoms?
Typically, a tongue-tie or a lip tie can be diagnosed as early as the first few days post birth. This is especially true when a poor nursing latch or painful breastfeeding are involved. However, sometimes the signs are not so obvious, and other symptoms arise, including speech delays, sleep disordered breathing, or improper swallow.
How is it treated?
At Tiny Tooth, your child’s health and wellbeing is our primary concern. By utilizing a diode Laser, we can assure a quick and minimally invasive procedure, with nominal soft tissue damage and scar tissue. The diode laser is used for the most intricate and delicate oral surgeries and procedures and is gentle to the tissues when compared to scalpels or blades.
If you suspect that your baby or child is suffering from either a lip tie or tongue tie, please do not hesitate to call our office at 98923 82636.
What are some of the symptoms of a tongue tie or lip tie in a child?
Symptoms Experienced by Infant:
- Shallow latch
- Poor weight gain or weight loss
- Clicking or gulping sounds while nursing
- Gumming, chewing nipples, leaks milk due to inability to form latch
- Colic/Gas/Reflux
- Frequently releases
- Infant has nursing ulcer on lip
- Long nursing sessions, falls asleep mid feed
- Easily chokes
- Potential future speech and dental problems including cavities
- Inability to swallow solid foods such as meat, “picky eaters”
Symptoms Experienced by Mother:
- Painful to nurse
- Frequent Mastitis
- Breasts don’t fully empty
- Cracked, blistered, or bleeding nipples
- Thrush
- Milk supply diminishing
- How does a Laser work?
Are Frenectomies only for newborn babies with tongue-ties?
Absolutely not! There is never a bad time to revise a lip or tongue-tie if it is causing symptoms. Treatment modalities depend greatly on child’s age and cooperation levels. At The Brush Stop Pediatric Dentistry, we treat newborns, children, and teens with restrictive issues.
Possible benefits of treatment?
- Assist in the success of nursing
- Relief from pain of breastfeeding
- Proper weight gain
- Stimulation of milk production
- Decrease risk of tooth decay as child gets older
- To assist in the proper craniofacial growth and development
- To evade long term speech deficiencies, and orthodontic issues